NJIT Enterprise Development Center Receives International Honor

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) has once again awarded its Soft Landings International Incubator designation to the Enterprise Development Center (EDC), a business incubator operated and sponsored by NJIT. This was the Center’s first renewal of the same designation it earned in 2010. NBIA www.nbia.org/member_services/soft_landings/ is the world’s leading organization advancing business incubation and support for entrepreneurs.

Through the Soft Landings program, NBIA recognizes incubation programs that are especially capable of helping nondomestic companies enter the incubator's domestic market. The EDC http://www.njit-edc.org/ was selected because of its business services for nondomestic firms and its demonstrated success at helping these firms enter U.S. market, said Randy Morris, NBIA director of member services.

Business incubation programs like the EDC catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make successful ventures. Incubating nondomestic firms takes more than the standard set of incubation services, however. "The Soft Landings designation recognizes an incubator's focus on welcoming nondomestic firms into its domestic market with translation services, help cutting through governmental red tape, access to capital, domestic market research and other programs," Morris said.

A panel of experienced incubator managers evaluated the Soft Landings applications. The unique support services for nondomestic firms at EDC impressed the judges, said Morris. The EDC accentuates its standard incubation services with assistance tailored specifically to nondomestic firms, including introductions to key U.S. contacts, assistance with government contracts and grant applications, immigration and visa assistance and help finding suitable housing.

NBIA’s Soft Landings designations are effective for two years; programs must reapply biennially for continuing designation. There is no cap on the number of designations available in a given year or over time. The EDC is one of 25 business incubation programs from around the world that have earned the designation since NBIA began the program in 2005.

One of the nation's leading public technological universities, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a top-tier research university that prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT's multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business acumen and leadership skills. With an enrollment of more than 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students, NJIT offers small-campus intimacy with the resources of a major public research university. NJIT is a global leader in such fields as solar research, nanotechnology, resilient design, tissue engineering, and cyber-security, in addition to others. NJIT ranks 5th among U.S. polytechnic universities in research expenditures, topping $110 million, and is among the top 1 percent of public colleges and universities in return on educational investment, according to PayScale.com.